Settlers of Catan is great if you can get 3 or more players. I love it.
Good 2+ player games (often it's just my wife and me...)
CarcassonneSettlers of Catan Card game (games can be long, but we've played this one a bunch over the years)
Ticket to Ride (though it gets better with more players - we often play it with our 5 yr old)
JavaMexicaForbidden Island (more players = more fun)
Castle Panic (again more players = more fun)
Quiddler (fun word-creating card game)
Forbidden Island and Castle Panic are both co-op games that are easy to learn by non-gamers (I've brought them both to work for "team-building excercises")
Not that I'm a shill for Amazon (some of the ones that fetch a higher price you can probably find on the cheap off ebay), but I thought you may like to see some other reviews of these games to see if they'd fit your play-style.
Those are the ones that came off the top of my head, though if you're looking for some specific type of game, let me know and I may have other suggestions. All of those I play with my wife, most I play with my son (who's 5) and I've played most of those with other nerdy friends and non-gamer friends.
I'll save my truly nerdy game list for another time